Washington, Mar 25 - Democratic governors experiencing the first pangs of buyers remorse. A major Midwest manufacturer  and President Obamas economic bellwether  projecting crushing first quarter losses. Small businesses grappling with the prospect of closing their doors. The first new piece of red tape. A phony abortion executive order signed behind closed doors. A growing grassroots revolt in the states.

So goes the first full day of President Obamas massive government takeover of health care. Its no wonder, then, that a new national survey shows that nearly 2 in 3 Americans want Republicans to keep challenging this unaffordable, job-killing health care law. In a Des Moines Register op-ed in advance of President Obamas visit to Iowa City today, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) lays out the case for repealing ObamaCare and replacing it with reforms focused first on lowering costs for families and businesses.

This new CBS News survey shows that nearly 2 in 3 Americans want Republicans in Congress to continue to challenge parts of the health care reform bill:

The poll finds that 62 percent want Congressional Republicans to keep challenging the bill, while 33 percent say they should not do so. Nearly nine in ten Republicans and two in three independents want the GOP to keep challenging. Even 41 percent of Democrats support continued challenges. They have also held relatively firm in their perceptions of how the bill will affect them. Sixteen percent say the bill will "mostly help," while 35 percent say it will mostly hurt. 57 percent of those surveyed, including most Republicans and independents, say the bill will increase the deficit. Just 18 percent say it will decrease the deficit.

If its first full day is any indication, there are plenty of good reasons to keep fighting ObamaCare:

 Buyers remorse, already? Democratic governors alarmed by ObamaCare tax hikes, regulations: A dire warning from Bay State medical-device companies that a new sales tax in the federal health-care law could force their plants - and thousands of jobs - out of the country has rattled Gov. Deval Patrick, a staunch backer of the law and pal President Obama. This bill is a jobs killer, said Ernie Whiton, chief financial officer of Chelmsfords Zoll Medical Corp., which employs about 650 people in Massachusetts. I am obviously concerned about the medical device burden here on the commonwealth, which has a very robust industry around medical devices, Patrick said yesterday. But he added that you better believe I will work to make modifications if the bill is found to be an impediment to that industry. (Boston Herald, 3/25/10) At the moment, governors in all 50 states are looking at the prospect of having to set up new health insurance marketplaces for small businesses and individuals who do not get coverage at work. As yet, there are only broad outlines to guide them. Says Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, a Democrat: I wake up worrying how I'm going to get from 2010 to 2014. (TIME, 3/25/10)

 Midwest manufacturer  and President Obamas economic bellwether  projecting $100 million hit in first quarter: Heavy-equipment maker Caterpillar says the new health care reform law will create a $100 million drag on its first-quarter earnings because of tax law changes. The Peoria company said Wednesday that the health care overhaul President Barack Obama signed this week will reduce the tax deduction it receives for its retiree health care program. Caterpillar says even though the change won't take effect until 2011, its liabilities for retiree health care are already reflected in its financial statements. (Associated Press, 3/25/10) [FLASHBACK: So what's happening at this company tells us a larger story about what's happening with our nation's economy, because, in many ways, you can measure America's bottom line by looking at Caterpillar's bottom line.  President Obama, 2/12/09]

 Already a need for a new round of federal regulations on top of government takeover: The ink is barely dry on the health care law, but Democrats are already looking to fix at least one piece of it. In an apparent oversight in the drafting process, some Democrats are concerned that children with pre-existing medical conditions might still be denied insurance coverage until 2014 On ABCs Top Line today, Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said such concerns will be addressed, either through administrative actions or further action by Congress. I think with the ability to pass regulations or even to further amend legislation -- thats something that can be easily handled through regs, or through the ability of us to amend another bill, Larson told us. (ABC News, 3/24/10)

 Small businesses grapple with prospect of compliance costs, closing their doors: Michele and Jeff Miller have owned Schaumburg-based Divine Signs for about seven years and provide insurance to their six full-time workers. They wondered about increasing government interference and higher fees or taxes. For those businesses with over 50 employees, much will change and for many the change will close their doors, Michele Miller predicted. The phasing in of the bill over the next seven years is confusing, said Lynda Reilly, president of Lynmar Lending Group Inc. in Naperville. Learning what is the responsibility of the employer and keeping records to prove the company is in compliance will demand more paperwork and time, which always means more cost for the business and will effect the bottom line. (Chicago Daily Herald, 3/25/10)

 Growing grassroots revolt in the states; Washington Post editorial says challenges are not frivolous: A flood of lawsuits from states seeking to block the health care law President Obama signed this week raises sharp questions about the power of the federal government to impose mandates on its citizens, but legal scholars disagree about how the cases will be decided if they are heard by the Supreme Court. Among the states filing lawsuits against the federal government is Virginia, where the legislature earlier this month approved a bill that exempts Virginians from a federal or state health insurance requirement. Governor Bob McDonnell, the recently elected Republican, held a public signing ceremony yesterday. Similar legislation has been filed in at least 32 states. (The Boston Globe, 3/25/10) Just minutes after Tuesday's signing ceremony, the constitutionality of the health insurance reform law came under fire. A coalition of attorneys general from 13 states filed suit in a northern Florida federal court; Virginia lodged a separate complaint, and other states may follow. These challenges are not frivolous. (The Washington Post editorial, 3/25/10)

 A basically meaningless abortion executive order signed behind closed doors: Both sides in the abortion debate came to a rare agreement on Wednesday: The executive order on abortion signed by President Obama, they said, was basically meaningless. (USA Today, 3/25/10) Anything but jubilant, President Barack Obama awkwardly kept a promise Wednesday he made to ensure passage of historic health care legislation, pledging the administration would not allow federal funds to pay for elective abortions covered by private insurance. Unlike Tuesday, when a beaming Obama signed the health care law in a nationally televised ceremony interrupted repeatedly by applause, the White House refused to permit coverage of the event. (Associated Press, 3/24/10)

 Employers already feeling angst, warning employees about impact of higher costs: Iowa businesses, large and small, feel angst about the possibility that their costs will increase amid a recession still battering the state. (Des Moines Register, 3/25/10) Now Verizon joins the roll of businesses staring at adverse consequences. In an email titled President Obama Signs Health Care Legislation sent to all employees Tuesday night, the telecom giant warned that we expect that Verizon's costs will increase in the short term. While executive vice president for human resources Marc Reed wrote that it is difficult at this point to gauge the precise impact of this legislation, and that ObamaCare does reflect some of the company's policy priorities, the message to workers was clear: Expect changes for the worse to your health benefits as the direct result of this bill, and maybe as soon as this year. (Wall Street Journal editorial, 3/25/10)

I say to all businesses, either cancel all health benefits, or shut your doors over obamacare.

It's just a TAX...it's not healthcare in any sense.

I think they want to collect the taxes until 2014, using the money to promote their agenda, and then cancel or greatly reduce the "health care" part of the bill just before it's scheduled to take effect.

We are going to witness a spectacular implosion of Leftism and the dem party as the dominoes keep falling, their desire to WIN HCR at all costs caused them to write a stupid unworkable and destructive bill that doesn’t do anything at all to improve health care, only destroys it.

Popcorn time.

5
posted on 03/25/2010 10:51:39 AM PDT
by HerrBlucher
("When the national government and Congress start going wild, it's up the states to rein them in.")

I think they want to collect the taxes until 2014, using the money to promote their agenda, and then cancel or greatly reduce the “health care” part of the bill just before it’s scheduled to take effect.

You are very correct. We are witnessing the death of the Liberal left.
Dang, the Japanese knew not to mess with this country. Now we have a dude that noone knows where he came from, try to force us to bow to him. And they wonder why people are angry.

10
posted on 03/25/2010 10:58:29 AM PDT
by Old Texan
(If the Dims are dumb enough to poke at a Rattlesnake, they are gonna get bit.)

Businesses, in particular Caterpillar, said this would hurt them long before the vote took place. The Democrats just didn’t want to listen. Perhaps we should all send them Q-tips to clean their ears so they can HEAR us all better.

The dems don’t understand basic supply and demand. They flaunt this in this healthcare mess, they will be spectacularly wrong on their deficit predictions, jobs lost as a result of it, costs to taxpayers, the number of doctors that will quit and the lines to wait that will build.

Perhaps we should all send them Q-tips to clean their ears so they can HEAR us all better.

That is a great idea for a simple symbolic protest. Send your congressperson a q-tip. They will have huge piles of q-tips in a matter of a few days. First we have to make sure that the q-tip company doesn't own any newspapers or tv stations, or advertise in newsweek or Time magazine. Otherwise, buy the store-brand or generic equivalent.

Oh, there’s someone without health insurance (or so I’m told).
They should have health insurance.
I can’t/don’t want to pay for it myself.
THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD DO IT!
...
No, I don’t want to think about how it will be paid for.
No, I don’t want to hear about the loss of freedom for others.
No, I don’t want to hear about the moral hazards.
No, I don’t want to hear about the economic damage.
LA LA LA LA I CAN’T HEAR YOU!

35
posted on 03/25/2010 11:25:26 AM PDT
by MrB
(The difference between a humanist and a Satanist is that the latter knows who he's working for.)

I was thinking of including instructions on how to use it (I don’t think they’re smart enough to figure out the symbolism on their own) and like you said, a note that says “Can you hear me NOW? Repeal the Health Care Reform Law!”

I've been saying for sometime that in the long run, the best that could happen would be if the idiots did pass this thing. Let's remember, it was written by people who have never had a private sector job, don't understand capitalism, and therefore cannot see unintended consequences.

The passage of this bill is going to inflict noticeable pain, and in the end will spell the defeat of the Democratic Party at a minimum, and perhaps liberalism itself will be relegated to the trash can where it belongs.

Businesses, in particular Caterpillar, said this would hurt them long before the vote took place. The Democrats just didnt want to listen. Perhaps we should all send them Q-tips to clean their ears so they can HEAR us all better.

And, as the Verizon guy would say, "can you hear me now."

41
posted on 03/25/2010 11:29:43 AM PDT
by auboy
(Men who cannot deceive others are very often successful at deceiving themselves. Samuel Johnson)

I originally thought when Obama was elected with a majority of Democrats that they would pass a bunch of tax increases that would cause much pain. I thought that this might lead to electing a radical libertarian who would be forced to end things like social security and medicare, and make deep cuts to defense and infrastructure.

Then the financial implosion hit and I got sidelined along with everyone else into doom and gloom and the sideshow of the arm twisting to pass the agenda. We are looking at this totally the wrong way. For years, I've had to argue with liberals about why their policies won't work. Now they have a chance to actually implement them and the blind idiots will be forced to see their views were wrong in the face of overwhelming evidence. No that they will ever admit they were wrong of course. They'll just shift their views and pretend they believed us all along, because that's what liberals do.

So now, I'm going back to my original thoughts. I thought it would take another 25 to 30 years before people got around to realizing that SS and Medicare were unsustainable, but with the "stimulus" package and the health care reform package(2 trillion in spending over the next 10 years, by their own numbers), this means that Obama has basically killed SS. It cannot be saved, because before these bills were passed, the projection was that it would be broke in 2034, and that even then people would be paying 70=80% in taxes to support it. But now, we are going to those kind of tax rates in the next few years. And because they spent 1 trillion dollars already, they can't paper it over any more. What happens in the coming years when the projected income from the new taxes does not materialize and the 2 trillion(stimulus + health care) balloons into 3? When we have massive layoffs and such? Does Obama become a dictator? Nope, because he does not control the military or the people who own guns. So what will happen?

A massive libertarian taker over of the government, that's what. Not that I think it's going to be good, because they are going to have to cut everything, including things that are good, to make ends meet. We'll all suffer, but only silver lining I can think of is that eventually, the end of SS, medicare, and welfare will be blamed on Barak Obama.

Not going to mention their name, but a person I know was hired back today, after being laid off yesterday due to obamacare, with the stipulation he/she would be payed under the table and he/she couldn't talk about it to anyone(Ok, so he/she broke that part but they couldn't wait to tell me about it). This is probably going to happen all over the country. Instead of going out of business small businesses will lay people off and rehire them under the table.

This does two things, denies the feds their taxes, denies them the health care taxes and allows the under the table employees to qualify for welfare. Dirty pool? I don't think so, I think it is called survival.

The passage of this bill is going to inflict noticeable pain, and in the end will spell the defeat of the Democratic Party at a minimum, and perhaps liberalism itself will be relegated to the trash can where it belongs.

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